Strength and Weakness
by MisterEWriter
Summary: A series of one-shots based on the My Father's Shadow universe.
1. First Date

**A/N: I'm finally posting some of the one-shots that have either a) been requested by a reader or b) something that's been sitting around on my computer since the beginning of my series. You will need to read My Father's Shadow in order to understand any of these one-shots.**

* * *

"I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy."

"Now listen to your Mom and go to bed, okay?" he told her.

"But I'm not ti—" Her argument was cut short with by a yawn.

He gave into a silent chuckle. Knowing his stubborn daughter would never admit to being tired, he opted for another tactic. "The sooner you go to bed, the sooner tomorrow comes."

"And the sooner you get here?"

He smiled at the excitement in her little voice. "Yes." His eyes drifted back to the dining area of the restaurant, landing on the person seated at the table he had vacated a few minutes ago to answer his phone. "Go to bed, Sweetheart. I'll see you tomorrow." He waited a full two minutes before she finally said goodnight and hung up the phone. Sliding his phone back into his jeans pocket, he headed back to the table, giving her a smile as he reclaimed the seat across from her. "I'm impressed," he told her, "First I spill beer on you and then I take a phone call right after we order dinner, yet you're still here."

"I thought you said the spilled beer was your buddy's fault?" she said in a teasing tone.

Steve chuckled. "Yeah." Freddie and he, as well as some of the other guys, had been horse playing around in their usual bar of choice when Freddie had bumped into him. That simple action had caused him to nearly knock over a beautiful woman whom he had never seen before and who, he had soon learned, had been one of the Intel officers speaking into his ear piece during his mission last week. She had then surprisingly taken him up on his offer to take her to dinner to make up for the beer he had spilled on her shirt. In the three hours since then he had done nothing but laugh; he had not been this mesmerized by a woman since … well, since Cindy. He'd have to thank Freddie later. "It was entirely his fault but I will admit that it certainly was not one of my finer moments."

"Well," she said, giving into a laugh. "Depending on how good this meal is I might decide to forgive you."

Steve grinned at her playful attitude. "I –" A slight blush appeared on his cheeks when his cell phone rang with the song _Under the Sea_ playing. "I'm sorry," he told her, pulling his phone out and answering it. "I thought you were going to bed." He listened on the phone, mouthing another apology to his dinner mate, and then said, "We'll have lots of fun, I promise. Now go to bed and I'll see you tomorrow." He listened again for a few long moments. "I love you, too. Goodnight." He tucked his phone away, giving into an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. That is just one call that I will never ignore."

"Both calls seemed pretty important," she observed, touched by the way his eyes had lit up when he had spoken to the person on the other end of the phone.

Steve nodded. "It was my daughter." He gave into a slight shrug. "She has to hear my voice every night before she goes to bed." The smile on his face grew larger. "She turned seven last week and well, as you know, I wasn't able to be there for it so I'm flying out in the morning to see her for a week."

"Do you have a picture of her?"

Steve nodded, maneuvering so he could pull his pocket out of his right rear pocket. Opening it, he pulled out one photo and showed it to her. "This was last Christmas." It was a picture of the two of them and had been taken on board one of the ferry boats. It had been freezing that day, Christmas Eve, but his daughter had insisted on going for a trip across Elliot Bay and how could he have told her no? His stubborn child had also insisted on spending the entire trip outside in the cold; that had been a battle she had lost.

"She's beautiful!"

"Thanks," Steve said, grinning proudly. "The guys keep telling me that I'm going to have my hands full when she's a teenager. They think it will be bad enough that my entire team will need to be present every time she gets picked up for a date."

She smiled at that, remembering her own father's habits with her dates in high school. "It won't be as bad as you think it will."

"She won't be allowed to date until she's thirty," he declared, reaching for another picture. "This is my favorite one of her."

The smile on her face grew as she looked at the picture of a younger girl, a white Navy combination hat on her head, the large hat hanging at an angle and covering half of her face. "She is so adorable." She looked up from the picture to look at him and the goofy, smitten look on his face. "What's her name?"

"Alexandra. She lives in Seattle…"

They spent the rest of the night chatting until the restaurant kicked them out so they could close. At one point, he had caught himself rambling on and on about his daughter and, despite his apologies, his date had insisted that she didn't mind hearing about Alexandra. Having talked enough about himself (or for that matter, about Alex) he had started inquiring about her, wanting to know as much as he could about her. Their conversation had flown so easily, and he had become more and more mesmerized by her with every word she spoke, that it took another two hours for them to finally appear at the door of the apartment she shared with another young Navy Officer.

"So, Rollins," he started as she rummaged through her bag for her keys. "When I get back from Seattle next week, would it be okay if I call you?" He smiled at her when she lifted her head to look at him. "I really enjoyed tonight."

"I did, too," she replied, returning his smile. "And, yes, you can call me."

"Great," he told her, waiting for her to unlock the door before bidding her goodnight.

He left only after he heard her lock the door from the inside. As he exited her building, he glanced down at his watch. It looked like he wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight as he had two hours to get home, pack, and head for the airport. He gave into a slight yawn and then shook his head, smiling. His team would probably let him have it over having abandoned them at the bar and the exuberant energy that he knew his daughter would have tomorrow would probably wear him out after a night of no sleep but, thinking back on his evening, it was well worth it. He had a good feeling about this Catherine Rollins. A good feeling indeed.

~End~


	2. Coronado, 2002

_Coronado, June 2002_

Stepping outside, Steve squinted briefly into the sun before donning a pair of sunglasses. The sun shining brightly over Coronado was the first bit of daylight he and his teammates had seen in three days, since the day they had left for their rescue mission in the Middle East. While abroad they had operated strictly under the cover of darkness, staging their operation out of an underground bunker, and performing the rescue mission in the dead of night. They had even arrived stateside well after dark and then had undergone a detailed debriefing that had lasted all night in a windowless conference room. The sunshine of the day was welcomed but even the brief encounter with the light made his eyes hurt although he couldn't be sure that the lack of sleep didn't also contribute to that.

He walked out of the building, flanked on either side by his teammates – Hart, Hanna, O'Reilly, Lambert, and Baron – until they were no longer under the overhang. Instantly he heard a voice shout, "Daddy!" His eyes locking onto the voice who had shouted, he was stunned to find his five year old, who should be in Seattle, running towards him at full speed. As he started to squat to be at her level, Alexandra, ever confident that he would catch her, launched herself at him. Catching her, he hugged her, kissing her on the head and giving into a smile when he felt her arms hug his neck. Murmuring a hello, he breathed in the smell of her shampoo and his eyes roamed the parking lot, finally landing on his father, who was standing in front of a car he didn't recognize – a rental, he presumed – in the near corner of the lot. His Dad smiled at him and he flashed him one in return. Pushing the questions out of his mind, Steve returned his attention to his daughter, who was now chatting with his teammates or, as she referred to them, her "uncles", over his shoulder.

He pulled back a little to look at her, all the while keeping her secure in his arms. She was wearing a yellow sundress with little daisies printed all over it and white sandals on her feet. The earrings she wore in each ear matched the daisies on her dress. And her hair … well, it was obvious that his Dad had attempted to style it that morning. Attempted but failed. Shaking his head, he interrupted his daughter's conversation momentarily by setting her back on the ground, moving to squat behind her as she resumed chatting with the guys. Listening to her laughter, he undid the two poorly constructed braids before restyling her hair into a single braid that made his daughter look a little more put together. He glanced upward at his guys when he heard them ask his daughter what she wanted for lunch; it was the same answer every time she was here and they all knew that.

"Chicken nuggets at the galley!"

Steve gave into a chuckle as did the rest of the guys. "So, Smooth Dog," Freddie said, "What do you say? Team lunch at the galley with this little lady?" He smiled down at the girl who was looking up at him with a smile on her face.

Steve expelled a breath. _So much for sleeping the rest of the day away. _ He glanced over his shoulder at his dad, who was still leaning back against the car. Looking down at his daughter, he asked, "You really want to go to the galley?"

"Yes," she replied, nodding. "With Uncle Sam and Uncle Freddie and Uncle John and Uncle Seamus and Uncle Wade." She grabbed his hand and gave him her trademark smile. "Please, Daddy, can we?"

Steve shook his head, catching the amusement in his buddies' eyes. They knew he was a sucker for that smile. He nodded towards his Dad. "An hour? I need to –"

His team agreed; an hour gave each of them time to get home and shower before meeting at the galley. They each took their leave with Freddie being the last to depart. He walked with Steve and Alex towards John. "See you soon, little lady."

"Bye, Uncle Freddie," Alex told him, hugging him.

"Sir," Freddie greeted John, shaking the older man's hand. "Nice to see you again."

"You too, Freddie."

Once his friend had departed, Steve turned to face his father. "So?"

John shrugged nonchalantly, taking Steve's duffel bag from him and putting it in the trunk. "Cindy's traveling for work and I couldn't stand the thought of Princess staying with anyone but me." He nodded towards his granddaughter who was walking along the curb as if it were a balance beam. "Joe said you were coming back today and I figured it'd be better for her to spend time with you." He grinned. "She's all yours for three weeks."

"Cindy didn't tell me she was going out of town." Of course she hadn't; why would the father of her child need to know that their daughter was going to be staying with a babysitter for several weeks? But of course his father had known all about Cindy's plans. She was really good about keeping _him_ updated on things going on with Alex. He studied his Dad briefly before commenting, "Commander White didn't know we'd be back until yesterday afternoon."

John nodded. "I called him a few days ago to tell him that I wanted to bring Alex to see you. He told me it wasn't a good time but promised to let me know when it would be." He shrugged again, as if it hadn't been a big deal to coordinate Alex's trip here. "We took the first flight this morning."

"Dad –"

Steve was cut off when his dad shouted at Alex, who was now behind him and out of Steve's line of sight. Turning around, he saw that his daughter was in the process of starting to climb one of the light poles. Both of her feet returned to the ground when John shouted at her and then she shot John a smile, a smile that told Steve she would attempt it again the first chance she was given. John shook his head. "She's climbing everything these days."


	3. A surprise for Dad

_Joint Base Pearl Harbor – Hickam, Summer 2011_

Catherine approached the entrance to the food court, saluting a Commander that she passed on the sidewalk, and then returned to looking for her unexpected lunch date. The phone call she had received only a few hours earlier had taken her by surprise but she had jumped at the chance to have this introduction. Her eyes scanned the people standing near the entrance, finally landing on a teenage girl sitting on a bench and talking on her cell phone. Even if she hadn't have known about her, she would have recognized the girl in a heartbeat; the resemblance was far too similar – more than it had been in the pictures she had seen of her – for her to be anything but Steve's daughter. She watched as the girl's eyes landed on her uniform and then broke into a friendly smile when she realized it was her. As Catherine continued to approach, Alexandra got to her feet and finished with her phone call, sliding her cell phone into her jeans pocket.

Meeting Catherine ten feet from the front door, Alex greeted, "Lieutenant Rollins." She shook Catherine's hand. "Nice to meet you, Ma'am."

Catherine returned the girl's smile. "Nice to meet you, too, Alexandra."

"So, um," Alex said, slight nervousness in her voice, "What would you like for lunch?"

Fifteen minutes later they were seated at a small table in the corner of the dining area and digging into their salads which the teenager had insisted on paying for. "I guess you're probably wondering why I asked you to have lunch with me," Alexandra commented, opening her bottle of water.

Catherine nodded. She had been curious, ever since the surprise phone call that morning, what Steve's daughter had in mind when she had asked to have lunch together. She was also very interested in getting to know the girl but, sensing the teenager was a bit nervous, she had decided to be patient and to allow Alexandra to lead their conversation. "I am and I have to admit that I'm still surprised that you called me." She reached for her own bottle of water. "I wasn't expecting that."

"About that…" Alex expelled a breath. "My Dad doesn't know I called you. He doesn't even know that I got your number out of his phone."

Catherine just nodded. It wasn't the time or the place to mention that she hadn't talked to Steve in about eight weeks, not since the day after he had escaped from prison and cleared his name in the Governor's murder. She had called him a few times after that, especially when she had heard about Alex's kidnapping, but he had yet to return any of her calls.

"My phone got destroyed the day I …" she trailed off, glancing off into the distance for several long seconds. "My kidnappers destroyed it," she continued, her voice just above a whisper. She shook her head as if she were clearing it of bad memories and then returned her gaze to Catherine. "Anyways, I, um, had to borrow my Dad's phone once and I saw that you had called. Several times." She took another forkful of salad, not mentioning the fact that she had listened to one of the voicemails that had been left. "But it didn't show that he had called you back and my Aunt says he's an idiot when it comes to women…" she trailed off again, giving into a shrug. "I don't know, I guess I figured that if you called to check on him when I was missing and again after I was found then you must care a lot about him."

"I've known your Dad for a long time," Catherine replied, realizing that the girl had probably done more than just see Steve's cell phone call log. "And I know how much he loves you. I can only imagine how difficult it was for him when you were gone."

Alex nodded in agreement. "And you care about him, too."

Catherine couldn't help but smile at that. "Of course I do."

The teenager smiled at that and then turned her attention to her lunch. She finally spoke up again five minutes later, interrupting Catherine's thoughts about Steve. "How long have you been in the Navy?"

"Ten years."

"Did you go to the Academy?"

Catherine nodded. "I did."

Alex thought for a moment. "So that means you graduated two years after my Dad did. Is that where you met?"

Catherine shook her head. "Actually, no. I mean, everyone at the Academy knew who your Dad was but he and I never met until years later. In Coronado."

"Oh." A minute later, after silent reflection, she asked, "Why did everyone know my Dad?"

"He hasn't told you about his days at the Academy?"

Alex shook her head. "Not really." She shrugged. "We've never really talked about Annapolis at all. I mean, I know I lived there until I was four but that's about it." She had just met the woman so there was no way she was going to admit that her relationship with her Dad wasn't all that great. Sure, they had made progress in recent weeks, ever since her kidnapping, but there was still a long way to go. She was still _so _angry with him about certain things.

"Well, I think your Dad is the best one to talk to about his time at the Academy," Catherine suggested. She was actually surprised to learn that Steve had not talked to his daughter about the Academy. "But what I can tell you is that he was a great football player and a great student."

Alex nodded and returned to her salad, finally saying, "I want to do something nice for him."

Catherine studied her for a few moments, sensing what she had yet to say. "And you'd like my help."

Alex gave into a laugh, amused by the fact that Catherine had guessed what she had wanted to say. "Yes. Well, I mean, you won't have to do any of the preparation – I'll do all of that myself – but it won't work if you're not there. You're the biggest part of the surprise."

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A/N: To read about the surprise, please refer back to Chapter 14 of My Father's Shadow, Part One.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favorited so far.


	4. The Start of an Amazing Friendship

**A/N: This is a prelude to Chapter 10 of MFS**.

* * *

"Come on, Alex," Grace said, tugging on the older girl's good hand and leading her towards the back of the bus. Staking claim to the rear right seat, Grace slid in first, leaving Alex to sit near the aisle. As the rest of the bus filled up, Alex rested her head back against the seat, ignoring the pain in her hand and breathing through the sudden panic that she felt. This had been the first time she had been in the back of a vehicle since … "Look, Alex, you're not the only big kid going with us."

Alex opened her eyes to instantly lock on the tall teenage boy – who was wearing a Seattle Mariners ball cap! – climbing up the steps of the bus. She had seen him earlier that morning, when they had been at the gathering point on the beach, waiting for all of the participants to attend but she had not stuck around with her age group long enough – all of the kids had stared at her and one of the girls had vocalized that they had never met a kidnap victim before – to learn his name. She watched as the boy responded to something the younger boy in front of him said – they looked like they could be brothers – and, as the younger of the two moved into a seat near the front of the bus, the older boy's eyes locked on her. He seemed surprised to see her – she was equally surprised to see another teenager on this bus – and then flashed a smile. She returned his smile and then he took his seat. As Grace started to chat excitedly about the day ahead, Alex was now feeling a little bit better about not being the only teenager stuck with a bunch of nine year olds for the day; it would be nice to have a friend for the week.

* * *

"Well that explains it," the boy commented, approaching her from her right. With a nod towards her bandaged hand, he continued, "You can't go snorkeling with that."

She turned to look at him, momentarily startled by the striking green of his eyes. "Stitches come out next week."

He nodded, lifting the left side of his shorts to reveal a line of stitches just above his knee. "Mine too."

"And that explains it," she told him, cracking a smile.

He chuckled at that, finding himself drawn to her beautiful blue eyes, and then pointed towards the younger boy he had been with earlier. "My brother insisted that I come here with him instead of sitting on the beach watching everyone else have fun in the water."

Alex nodded in understanding. "Grace – her Dad works with my Dad – basically said the same thing."

"Yeah, Sam told me I'd be happier here." Sam and Grace then joined them, both chatting excitedly about all of the marine animals they wanted to see. As they formed a line to get their tickets from the camp counselors, he couldn't help but think that his brother was right. "I'm Josh, by the way."

"Alex," she returned. "Nice to meet you."

* * *

"So," Alex said, leaning back against the wall next to Josh as the younger kids moved forward to check out the clams. The counselors had decided that the first stop at the Waikiki Aquarium would be the outdoor giant clam display and, while the younger kids were excited to see the creatures up close and personal, she had not been as excited. Seeing that Josh had had the same idea, she figured they might as well strike up a conversation. "If you could pick one guy to carry the team all the way, would you pick Hernandez or Pineda?"

"What?" he asked, a look of mild shock on his face. "You –" He quickly recovered from his surprise, standing straighter. "Hernandez. All day, every day."

"Okay," Alex said, considering his opinion. "Hernandez or Pauley?"

Josh shook his head. "I'm not sure that's a fair comparison."

"Sure you can," she argued gently. "Just because one's a starter and the other's a reliever doesn't mean you can't compare them. You can easily talk about their overall mechanics, their insight into the game, their ERA and —"

"You're a Mariners fan?" Josh interrupted, a little amused by her argument.

"Of course I am," she answered. "I'm from Seattle."

"You are?" he returned. "Interesting; we just moved here from there." He shrugged. "Well, we lived in Tacoma but we spent a lot of time in Seattle."

Not only was he around her age and a baseball fan but they also had Seattle in common! Giving into an interested smile, she asked, "How long were you there for?"

"Three years. My Dad's in the Army."

"Oh. My dad's in the Navy." She looked conflicted for a moment. "Or was. He came off of Active Duty orders last September when he moved back here."

"Cool. What'd he do in the Navy?"

She didn't answer for a few moments as she thought about previous conversations with her dad. Only sort of remembering what she had been told, she answered with the easiest explanation, "He did a lot of different things, I guess. He's a Lieutenant Commander."

"My Dad's an Officer, too," Josh informed her. "Did your Dad go to the Naval Academy?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I was born in Annapolis actually."

"I hear it's a beautiful city," he commented.

"I don't remember anything about it."

"Yeah," he returned, nodding in understanding. "I was born in Fort Drum and I don't remember it at all." He glanced at the group of kids, making sure he had eyes on his brother, and then looked back at her.

"So was your dad stationed at Bremerton?" That was the closest Naval Base to Seattle. Although he supposed her dad could have also been stationed in Everett instead considering it was only a 45 minute drive, without traffic, from Seattle. "Or Everett?"

"Neither," Alex replied, momentarily distracted by Grace who was calling her from across the room. They moved away from the wall, headed towards the group of kids. "He was based in Coronado; I live in Seattle with my Mom."

A pained look passed momentarily across his face. "My parents aren't together anymore either," he said softly. The moment passed and he changed the topic. "Do you play baseball or softball?"

She shook her head as they reached the kids. She spent a few minutes chatting with Grace, who had wanted to show her the giant clams, while Josh chatted with his brother. As one of the aquarium educators started briefing the kids, Alex replied to Josh's question in a whisper. "I like to run. You?"

"Football," he replied. "I love to play football." He grinned at her. "I enjoy watching it more than I do baseball, too."

"My dad's a huge football fan," she told him. She rolled her eyes. "He knows so little about baseball it's embarrassing."

"Did he ever play football?"

She nodded. "My grandpa said he played for his high school here. Have you heard of Kukui High?"

Josh nodded. "Yeah, I have."

"My grandpa said my Dad was a pretty good quarterback but I've never seen him play." She gave into a shrug. "At least not that I can remember."

"That's cool," he returned. "I play quarterback, too." Their conversation stopped as they were ushered along by the camp counselors with the other kids. Sam and Grace joined them, pulling them along in the middle of the crowd, until they reached the next destination, the Coral Farm. "So," he asked her, once they were inside the next building. "I take it you've been to Hawaii before?"

Alex nodded, swallowing hard as she thought about the last time she had been here. Oh how she missed her Grandpa so much! "Once. And I've been here a couple of weeks so far this summer and my Dad and I have done some fun stuff."

"It seems like there's a lot to do here."

She nodded. "Yeah, if you don't mind being stuck on an island." She laughed. "Which I happen to enjoy. Plus there's a lot to do outdoors if you like that kind of stuff. And there's a ton of cultural and historical stuff on the island."

"I love doing all of that kind of stuff," he told her.

"Good," she returned, a smile on her face. "You're going to love it here."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Please leave a review. Also, if you have any ideas for a chapter, let me know! **


	5. A Trip to the Zoo

A/N: This is for everyone who has requested more stories about Steve and his little girl.

* * *

"She's beautiful."

Steve turned to his right to find an older woman a few feet from him. "Thank you, Ma'am." He and Alex were at the San Diego Zoo and, after only visiting the petting zoo which had been their first stop, Alex had insisted on playing on the playground. Figuring this trip to the Zoo was more for her than him, he had allowed her to play, telling her that she could only do so for fifteen minutes. After ten minutes, she had run over to him, cheeks flushed, asking him for a drink of water. He had taken the opportunity to fix her hair, which had come loose from the ponytail, before sending her back out to play for a few more minutes.

"How old is she?"

"Five," Steve answered, glancing at her briefly before returning his focus to his daughter, who was now climbing the rope net, the littlest of the four kids on it. His Dad had been correct yesterday when he had told him that Alex was climbing everything now. She had climbed a tree outside of Freddie's apartment yesterday afternoon and then had needed him to get her back down. Then he had caught her scaling the face of the bookshelf in his living room which had earned her a brief stint in timeout and a lecture on safety and why it was a bad idea to climb things that weren't designed for climbing. He held his breath for a moment as she lost her footing on the net. If Cindy were here she probably would not have allowed Alex to even get near the net but he had a different mentality when it came to letting their daughter take risks. It wasn't that he wanted her to get hurt but he believed that every kid, especially his kid, should have the opportunity to take risks in order to learn and overcome challenges. He released his held breath when she regained her footing, taking a few more steps and pulling herself up onto the landing. A little more relaxed now that Alex was off of the net, he looked at the woman again. "How many of these are yours?"

"I'm here with three of my grandkids," she replied, pointing them out to him. "The twin boys and the blond on the swings."

"Cute kids," he complimented before shaking his head. "Three boys, though? Hopefully they're not as rowdy as I was as a kid."

The woman laughed at that. "They have their moments but I suppose all kids do."

Steve nodded at that. "True." He glanced at his watch. "Alexandra! Time to go!" He watched as his daughter stood at the top of the slide, patiently waiting for the kid in front of her to clear the bottom. She took her turn down the slide and ran over to him. "Here," he said, opening the bottle of water and handing it to her. "Drink some more water."

She finished drinking and handed the bottle back to him. "Where's Uncle Freddie?"

"He'll be here soon." Alex had insisted that Freddie join them on this visit to the Zoo and nothing he – he didn't think Freddie needed to spend their first day back with him and Alex – or Freddie – he felt that Steve deserved some time with his daughter – had said could change her mind. Originally Freddie was supposed to drive with them to the Zoo but he had called that morning to say he would meet them at the Zoo. He had called about twenty minutes ago saying he was pulling into the parking lot.

"How many minutes is soon?"

"Soon," he repeated. "Come on," he said, reaching for her hand. "Let's go see the Reptiles." He looked at the woman he had been talking to. "Enjoy your day, Ma'am."

"What's reptiles?" Alex asked, tugging on his hand to get him to stop walking.

"Alligators, tortoises, and snakes." The last time he had taken Alex to a Zoo – the National Zoo – was when she was three. He and Cindy had contemplated not taking her into the Reptile House because they were concerned that she might be scared by the snakes, like many of the kids they had witnessed coming out of the Reptile House that day. After a few minutes of discussion, they had decided to try it and, much to their surprise, Alex had not been scared by the snakes at all. He hoped that she would react the same way this time.

"Big snakes?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen them yet."

"I have to go potty."

He remembered seeing one near the entrance to the playground saving him from having to pull out a map of the zoo and search for one. "Alright, let's go potty then."

* * *

"Uncle Freddie!" Alex screamed the second they stepped outside of the men's latrine and she spotted him standing nearby. She took off running, ignoring her dad's instruction to watch where she was going, and jumped into Freddie's arms. "You're here," she said, hugging his neck.

"Of course I'm here," he told her, placing a kiss to the top of her head. "I could never miss out on spending the day with you."

"And Daddy?" she asked, pulling her head back so she could look him in the eyes.

"And Daddy," Freddie agreed, smiling at Steve who was approaching them.

Steve, who had been forced to apologize to two people after his daughter had nearly knocked them over during her exuberant run to see Freddie, reached them, shaking Freddie's hand and reaching for his daughter. Holding her in front of him, he asked, "What did I say earlier about running?"

"But Daddy …"

He shook his head. "What did I say?"

"No running at the Zoo."

Steve nodded. "And what did you just do?"

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she said, putting her hands on his cheeks. "Uncle Freddie is here," she told him, breaking into a smile.

He had to force himself to not smile at that. Alex adored Freddie and it made Steve happy to see how happy she was around him. "I know you're happy to see Uncle Freddie but you still need to remember the rules, okay?" She nodded. "Now, I think we should go say I'm sorry to the people you almost knocked over. How does that sound?" She nodded again and he set her on the ground. Reaching for her hand, he led her over to the couple he had apologized to earlier. Once Alex apologized to the couple, they rejoined Freddie.

"Can we go see the…" Alex started, looking at Steve. "What are they called again, Daddy?"

"What are what called?"

"The alligators and snakes."

"Reptiles," Steve and Freddie answered at the same time.

"Can we go see the Reptiles now, Daddy?" she asked, reaching for his hand.

"Yes, we can go to the Reptile House now," Steve told her.

"You're coming, too, right, Uncle Freddie?"

"Of course I am, little lady," Freddie said, smiling down at her.

* * *

At three o'clock that afternoon, Alexandra was fast asleep in her father's arms as he and Freddie made their way from the Zoo entrance to the parking lot, reaching Steve's car first. "Thanks, man," Steve told his friend. "It means a lot that you gave up one of your days off to help entertain her."

"She's a good kid, Steve," Freddie returned, smiling at the sleeping girl whose head was resting on Steve's shoulder. He opened the passenger side door to the backseat. "And I love spending time with her."

"Thanks, man."

"Anytime, brother." Freddie leaned down and kissed Alex on the head.

Alex stirred gently, lifting her head and blinking blearily. "Uncle Freddie?"

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" he told her. "You go home now and have more fun with your Daddy."

Alex turned in Steve's arms so that her forehead rested in the crook of his neck. "My Daddy's the bestest."

"I'll see you later, Steve," Freddie told him, smiling at the smitten look on his friend's face. "Call me if you need anything."

"Later, Freddie," Steve returned, watching as Freddie turned and headed in the direction of his vehicle. Steve bent down, putting his daughter in her booster seat, and buckling her in. As he placed a kiss to the top of head, he couldn't help but think that his daughter was the 'bestest', too.


	6. A Profound Loss

**A/N: JM Reagan, a reader of the MFS series, and who quickly became a dear friend of mine, passed away on Saturday night/Sunday morning. I had just texted with her on Friday, as was our ritual during and after every airing of Five-0, so to say I am shocked by her passing would be an understatement. It's a small comfort to know that she is no longer in pain but my heart breaks for the loss of her beautiful, beautiful soul. Juli loved God, dogs, Hawaii Five-0, the Navy, and was a major supporter of the US military, especially Navy SEALS. She was always positive even when things got difficult in her life. This just doesn't seem real; I'm expecting a message from her any second now. Despite our age difference, I considered her a great friend and she will truly be missed. I, along with her family members, keep screaming at ourselves to wake up from this nightmare. As I sat in my apartment tonight, sobbing over her passing, the idea for this one shot came to me. Maybe it's Juli, telling me that she's tired of my muse disappearing on me, and that she's ready to read a new chapter in the MFS universe. **

**This is for you, Juli. Your friendship was one-of-a-kind and I feel incredibly blessed to have known you and to have been deeply touched by your beautiful soul. I miss you so much already.**

* * *

She woke up with a startle, heart beating rapidly, head pounding, and dried tears on her cheeks. She glanced at the clock; 4:30. Wondering if it had all been a nightmare, she grabbed her cell phone off of the nightstand; no text messages. She pulled up her email on the phone; no new message. That was when it hit her like a ton of bricks all over again – he was dead. At least that was what her Dad had told her on the phone last night; a heart attack her mother had explained later. It didn't seem real. How could it be anything but a nightmare when she had just talked to him on the phone yesterday morning, when he had called her at four a.m. his time, to talk to her before her school day started. It wasn't real …

She silently screamed at herself to wake up. She pinched her arm, drawing blood, in an attempt to bring herself out of this bad dream. When both of those failed, the pain and sadness struck her deep in the chest yet again. The tears started to fall and were quickly followed by sobbing. She curled into a ball under her covers when her stomach started to hurt and she was only vaguely aware that her sobs were echoing throughout her bedroom. She heard a knock on her door and her mother's voice calling her name. She forced herself to stop crying, holding her breath, until she heard her mother walking away. She could use a hug and someone who would hold her and let her cry, but her mom wasn't the person who could offer what she needed. For that matter, neither was her Dad, whom she hadn't seen in well over a year. There was only one person who could provide the safety and comfort that she needed and wanted but that person wasn't here.

He was dead.

A sudden and unexpected death. A life torn short. A mountain of a man. Her hero. Her whole world.

He was gone.

The man who had taught her how to ride a bike and who had taught her all of the constellations by hanging star stickers on her bedroom ceiling. The man who called her every single day, some times more than once, sometimes for no other reason than to tell her he loved her. The man who insisted that her parents loved her and who expressed that her hero should be her Dad and not him. The man whose smile lit up the whole room, who made her laugh by making funny faces, who told her jokes, who made blueberry pancakes for breakfast every time he visited her. The man who quizzed her on history – American, European, Asian, Middle Eastern, Church, and Hawaiian – and who always let her help him build his model cars, even after she had accidentally squirted the wheel lube all over his shirt when she was ten.

He was gone and the thought of never seeing him again broke her heart. She had never known pain like this before. Never in her thirteen years.

She glanced at the clock again; 4:45. Her Mom should be leaving the apartment for work any minute now. Picking up the picture of him on her nightstand, she gave into the tears again until, several minutes later, she heard the front door open and close. She waited a few minutes, until she was certain her mom was gone, and then, not knowing how she would manage to not break down in tears for the rest of the day, decided to ditch school. She'd do what she had grown accustom to the last two years: ride the Ferry boats back and forth until she figured out how to deal with this new found, extraordinarily intense pain all by herself.

Now that her grandfather, the amazing John McGarrett, was gone she had nobody. Her whole world was now shattered into a million pieces.

* * *

**A/N: I wrote this in roughly 15 minutes, vision blurred from my tears, so it is un-edited. Please excuse any errors that you may find. **


	7. Adjusting His Sails

**A/N: This goes back to the early episodes of Season 1.**

His life had been planned out since he was sixteen, finalized only weeks after arriving at the Army and Navy Academy. He would play four years of college football at the Naval Academy, attend BUD/S training, and then serve a minimum of twenty years on Active Duty. He would be a SEAL for as long as his body, and the Navy, would allow. He would use his shore leave to explore new places, from the far ends of the Earth to everything in between. He would learn several languages along the way, surf in every ocean, climb hundreds of mountains, and visit every continent. It was only after that, once he decided to bid the Navy life goodbye, when the plan for his life got hazy. Maybe that was when he would finally return home to the island that he had once called home but, even if he did, he doubted he would stay. Because he doubted things – certain people – in Honolulu would change.

Of course, life rarely turns out the way it's planned. He had learned that lesson the day his mother died. He had been reminded of it again when he was seventeen and met a beautiful girl at a California beach. Life had taken another unexpected turn when he was twenty and his daughter was born. He had still been able to complete his time at the Academy and he had somehow managed to still accomplish his goal of becoming a SEAL. Even with his child and her mother – another plan of his had gone awry when she had turned down his marriage proposal – waiting at home for him, he had figured out a way to achieve his dreams. His plans had changed yet again when, at the age of 24, Cindy had left him, taking their daughter with her to Seattle. He had adjusted his sails again, somehow managing as an Active Duty SEAL and visiting Alexandra as often as possible. He had maintained a relatively even balance of both for several years until about 18 months ago, the last time he had seen his daughter.

He had even adjusted to that, not seeing the person he cared about most in this world, despite it being one of the most difficult things he had ever done. He had gotten used to spending his life split between his tiny apartment in Coronado and a makeshift bunk in whatever continent his team was operating in, learning to be satisfied with a telephonic relationship with his daughter, as generic as those conversations had become. He still loved being a SEAL and he loved the men on his team like brothers. Up until a week ago, even after the death of his best friend, he had still seen himself continuing to serve his country.

But, once again, the winds had changed and he had been forced to adjust his sails.

As he took a seat on the stairs, reality hit him like a punch to the gut. Almost exactly like it had over the phone seven days ago. He found himself staring at the spot where his father had been murdered. His return home, the return that he was never really sure he would make, was now marred by the loss of the man who, while undoubtedly the best grandfather a girl could have, he had never really seen eye-to-eye with. Years of anger stemming from that day 18 years ago when his father had sent him and Mary to the mainland, coupled with differing views on a variety of things, had made their relationship tense, to say the least.

He had always said that regrets were a waste of time. Wondering how things could have been different, asking 'what if' he had taken another path in life, all that did was make a man go crazy. But this… this sudden loss, this finality, it hurt. The gunshot still echoed in his head; his father's final words resounded in his mind. There was an ache in his heart that wouldn't go away. Even with the promise from the Governor that she would give him the opportunity and means to track down the man responsible for his father's death.

Never in a million years would he have imagined to be back in Hawaii at the age of 33, having been offered a chance to head up the governor's new taskforce. He had followed in his father's footsteps after all; he was a cop. He had submitted his request to not return to Active Duty and, once the crime scene tape was officially removed, had moved back into his boyhood home which his father had left to him. There was still evidence of his dad's murder on the floor and on the walls; his goal today was to clean that before the shave ice stand guy, Kamekona, delivered supplies so he could make some changes to the interior of the home.

The path his life had been on for the last few years had once again changed. The loss of Freddie and his father had caused his priorities to change. It hurt to know that his sister, whom he hadn't seen in years, and he no longer had a parent walking the Earth. It hurt to know that Alex had lost her grandfather and it hurt to know that she had not wanted to come to the funeral. He was confused by that, too. Maybe this life transition would be easier if his daughter were here with him. Or maybe it wouldn't; he'd never know.

On shaky feet, he stood and walked over to his father's desk, which was covered in pictures of Alexandra. Picking one up, he felt tears pricking his eyes as he took in the smiling faces of Alex and his Dad. He wasn't the only one whose life had changed drastically in the last week. As he set the picture frame back down, he resolved to do like he always did: he'd cope and learn to manage with this new life.

And when the winds of change blew again, he'd adjust his sails in the right direction.


End file.
